F1 treats Miami as restart
With Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian races cancelled, teams and bosses in the briefing said Miami is effectively a mid‑season 'restart' that could reshuffle momentum and development priorities. (planetf1.com) Reports in the briefing also say F1 is weighing calendar changes and that teams are using the April break for simulator and bench testing. (motorsport.nextgen-auto.com)
Miami is where Formula 1 starts again after a five-week gap wiped Bahrain and Saudi Arabia off the April schedule. (formula1.com, planetf1.com) Formula 1 and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile said on March 14 that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix would not take place in April because of the situation in the Middle East. The series did not add replacement races, leaving a break from the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 to Miami on May 3. (formula1.com, formula1.com, formula1.com) Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Fred Vasseur was right to call Miami a “restart,” and Vasseur has framed the next phase as a new fight after the long pause. Reports from the paddock say teams have used the shutdown for simulator work, bench testing and upgrade preparation rather than race travel. (planetf1.com, motorsport.nextgen-auto.com) The timing is awkward because 2026 already opened a new rules era, with redesigned cars and power units built around advanced sustainable fuels. Teams normally learn what works by racing every one or two weeks; this year they got three rounds, then a month off. (formula1.com, formula1.com) The standings are close enough for a reset to matter. Mercedes leads the constructors’ table with 135 points to Ferrari’s 90 and McLaren’s 46, while Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship with 72 points ahead of George Russell on 63 and Charles Leclerc on 49. (formula1.com, formula1.com) Antonelli’s win at Suzuka on March 29 made the 19-year-old the youngest championship leader in Formula 1 history, and it sent Mercedes into the break with momentum. Ferrari still has both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the top four, which is why Vasseur has argued the season should be judged from Miami onward. (formula1.com, formula1.com, planetf1.com) There is also still uncertainty around the calendar itself. Motorsport Nextgen-Auto reported on April 13 that more schedule changes are being discussed and that Saudi pressure to restore races later in 2026 remains part of the conversation. (motorsport.nextgen-auto.com) Miami is scheduled as a sprint weekend from May 1 to May 3 at the Miami International Autodrome, with one practice session on Friday before sprint qualifying. That format gives teams less track time to understand any new parts they bring after the layoff. (formula1.com, formula1.com) So the first United States race of 2026 is doing two jobs at once: round four of the championship, and the first real test of what teams learned while Formula 1 was parked. (formula1.com, planetf1.com)
